There’s this idea out there, and it would be correct, that Brandon Stokley deserves some credit for helping the Broncos land quarterback Peyton Manning. But the reverse also is true.

Stokley said he was “95 percent retired” and content to move on with his life as a former NFL player when he decided to accept Manning’s invitation to work out at Duke University in late February. It was basketball that sold Stokley on the trip to North Carolina. That Stokley rediscovered he still could play football was a bonus.

Stokley arrived in Durham unsure how he would feel when he took off on his first pass route. It was well after Valentine’s Day, and he hadn’t run since before Christmas, when he quit rehabbing the quadriceps he injured while playing two games for the New York Giants last fall.

To Stokley’s delight — and eventually, the Broncos’ — he ran pain free. He still could make his cuts and hadn’t lost any speed. When Manning picked the Broncos in mid-March — after bunking at Stokley’s home in Castle Pines and playing catch in a nearby park during his Colorado visit — Stokley went about making his own NFL comeback.

“I feel like I’m fighting for a job every day. So I just go out there and try to prove to myself that I can still make plays, every day. That’s been my mentality since I was a rookie,” Stokley said. “I’m enjoying it, having fun. I know I don’t have another five years, 10 years left in me, so I’m enjoying this experience and this opportunity that I have.”

Stokley, who will turn 36 this month, said the Broncos were the only team he would have considered joining in 2012 as he tries to play his 14th season in the NFL. He spent too much of the past two falls away from his wife and two sons and didn’t want to do that again. The Broncos signed Stokley to the 90-man offseason roster in April, and it’s up to Stokley to make the 53-man opening-day roster come September.

“I know he wants to play again and wants to stay here because this is where his family has made their home, so to see him get another opportunity and see him on the field right now is unbelievable,” receiver Eric Decker said. “The guy looks like he’s back in his prime. Running great routes, he’s healthy, and to have that veteran leadership in the receiver room is big for a young group.”

Stokley said he had no lingering hard feelings from the way his first stint with the Broncos ended in 2010. He played three productive seasons in Denver from 2007-09 (and produced one of the team’s all-time great game-winning touchdowns against Cincinnati in 2009), but he injured his groin during training camp in 2010. The injury, combined with a crowded receiver group that included Demaryius Thomas and Decker as rookies, plus veterans Jabar Gaffney, Eddie Royal and Brandon Lloyd, left Stokley without a job. After the groin injury healed, he signed with Seattle, where he played in 11 regular-season games and two playoff games.

Stokley looks around the Broncos’ locker room now and sees familiar faces such as Decker and Thomas, both entering their third year and on the verge of stardom, and defensive teammates such as Champ Bailey and Elvis Dumervil. And of course, there is Manning, Stokley’s teammate in Indianapolis from 2003-06.

Stokley understands the perception that part of the reason he was signed was to help the Broncos’ young receivers adapt to Manning and the style of the offense that the Broncos will run with the new quarterback.

Throughout the three weeks of voluntary practices that concluded last week, Stokley has served as somewhat of a Manning-to-receiver dictionary, translating body language, hand signals and facial expressions for his fellow receivers.

“He’s kind of that middle person if we don’t understand,” Decker said.

But what if Stokley is providing a young receiver with the tools he needs to beat out Stokley for a job by the end of training camp? Stokley realizes that could happen.

“That comes with the territory. You have to have enough belief in your ability that you can go out there and make the team, whether you help somebody or you don’t,” Stokley said. “I’d rather take the high road and help somebody out. If it costs me a job, it costs me a job because that would mean that I wasn’t good enough.”

Right now, Stokley is proving good enough. He has worked with the Broncos’ top group of wide receivers — back in his familiar slot spot — in organized team activities, and he made one of the best plays in the three sessions that were open to the media when he dived to catch a deep pass from Manning against triple coverage in a two-minute drill.

“It’s the Brandon Stokley I’ve seen on tape. He’s healthy, and he’s got a good skill set to play in this league, and he’s proven that a lot of different places,” coach John Fox said.

Brandon Stokley is used to being the senior member in the Broncos’ wide receivers room. Never has that been more true than now. NFL reporter Lindsay H. Jones analyzes the players trying to make the Broncos’ 53-man roster at wide receiver:

Player Ht. Wt. Age Exp.Andre Caldwell 6-0 190 27 5He had 124 catches in his four seasons in Cincinnati, including a career-high 51 catches in 2009. He has the speed to be a versatile inside and outside threat and also could return kickoffs.Eric Decker 6-3 218 25 3He started 14 games — including the postseason — for the Broncos last year and had 44 catches for 612 yards and eight touchdowns. He has spent significant offseason time with Peyton Manning and appears poised for a breakout year.Mark Dell 6-2 195 23 2He was an undrafted rookie out of Michigan State last year. He had a decent chance to make the team in 2011 after an impressive training camp but suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the preseason. He spent all of last season rehabbing in Denver while on injured reserve.D’Andre Goodwin 5-11 188 24 2An undrafted rookie last year, he spent most of 2011 on the Broncos’ practice squad. He was signed to the active roster before Denver’s playoff game against New England.Tyler Grisham 5-11 180 24 2He spent parts of the past three seasons on the practice squad in Pittsburgh and has played in four games.Jason Hill 6-0 202 27 6He started the first 10 games of 2011 for Jacksonville before he was released about the same time Jack Del Rio was fired as head coach. Hill followed Del Rio to Denver by signing as a free agent in March. He has 76 catches in his five seasons.Greg Orton 6-3 199 25 1He spent part of last season on the Broncos’ practice squad. Orton, who played at Purdue, also has played in the Arena Football League and the United Football League.Eric Page 5-10 180 20 RAn undrafted rookie out of Toledo, he could have the inside track to make the 53-man roster because of his value on special teams as a returner of kickoffs and punts. Page caught 112 passes for Toledo last season as a junior.Gerell Robinson 6-4 222 22 RUndrafted out of Arizona State, he has impressive size. He caught 77 passes, eight for touchdowns, from Brock Osweiler last season at ASU.Brandon Stokley 6-0 194 35 14Back for a second stint with the Broncos, Stokley has recovered from the quadriceps injury that kept him out of all but two games last year with the Giants. A valuable veteran leader, Stokley has shown in practice he can contribute as a slot receiver.Demaryius Thomas 6-3 220 24 3The Broncos are hoping Thomas picks up in 2012 right where he left off in 2011, when he closed the season as one of the league’s most productive receivers. He had 448 receiving yards in the team’s final five regular-season games and had a career-high 204 yards in the Broncos’ playoff victory against Pittsburgh.Matt Willis 6-0 190 28 5He played in every game for the Broncos last season as the team’s No. 4 receiver. The coaches love his toughness, particularly on special teams, which could help him once again secure a roster spot.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.